From the realm of sci-fi to Steve Jobs’s stage: The iPad is official. What is it? What can it do? How does it work? Here’s everything you need to know about Apple’s newest creation, all in one place.
It’s almost impossible to overstate the buzz leading up to this device. Immediately after the death of the Newton, rumours began trickling out about a follow-up from Apple; in the last five years, speculation and scraps of evidence about an Apple tablet have been a fixture in the tech media; in the last year, the rumours reached crisis levels. Today, Apple’s tablet has finally arrived, and we’ve got the full rundown, from specs, features, content and price to what it’s like to actually use one.
• Size and shape: The screen’s aspect ratio makes it seem a bit squat, but this is intended to be a bi-directional tabl – err, Pad. The bezel is a little fat, but otherwise, this thing is basically a clean slab of pure display. It’s just .5 inches thick, which is a hair thicker than the iPhone 3GS and measures 9.56 x 7.47 inches. Final weigh-in is 1.5 pounds (0.68kg) without 3G and 1.6 pounds (0.73kg) with.
• The Screen: The tablet’s multitouch screen measures in at 9.7 inches, meaning that it’s got a significantly smaller footprint than the smallest MacBook, but a much larger screen than the iPhone. (That’s 9.7 inches diagonal, from screen corner to screen corner.) The screen’s resolution is a dense 1024 x 768.
Here’s what it looks like on video:
• The guts: It’s a half-inch thick – just a hair thicker than the iPhone, for reference – and weighs 680 grams. It’s powered by a 1GHz Apple A4 chip, and has 16GB to 64GB of flash storage. From the looks of it, Apple finally got some use out of that PA Semi purchase, and built their own mobile processor. It’s also loaded with 802.11 n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, a 30-pin connector, a speaker, a microphone, an accelerometer and a compass. Video output runs through and iPhone-type composite adapter at up to 576p and through a dock-to-VGA adaptor at up to 1024 x 768. No HDMI, no DVI – not even a Mini DisplayPort.
3G is optional, and costs more, not less. Along with 3G, the upgraded models include A-GPS. (More on this below)
Oh, and there isn’t a rear-facing camera, nor is there a front-facing camera. This tablet is totally camera-less, which seems a bit odd.
• The battery: Apple’s making some INCREDIBLE claims about battery life: 10 hours for constant use, with a one-month standby rating. Ten hours of constant use includes video viewing, so you could conceivable watch about six feature films before this thing dies.
• How you hold it: You can hold it two different ways, and the software will adapt to both. Portrait mode seems like the primay mode, a la the iPhone while landscape mode – better for movies and perhaps magazine content – is a secondary mode. The Apple decal is oriented for portrait mode, so basically, just get ready for a whole bunch of HEY IT’S A GIANT IPHONE!! jokes.
Some models have Wi-Fi exclusively, while some have 3G as well. It’s with AT&T, and costs either $US15 a month for 250MB of data, or $US30 for unlimited data. With the plan, you get access to AT&T’s Wi-Fi hotspots as well. Best of all, it’s a prepaid service – no contract. You can activate it from the iPad any time, and cancel whenever you want. This sounds like a fantastic deal, until you consider how it’s probably going to brutalise AT&T’s already terrible 3G coverage.
The iPad itself is unlocked, so you can conceivably use it with any Micro SIM card . But what the hell is a Micro SIM card? For one, it’s not the same kind of SIM that’s in your iPhone, so don’t expect to just pop that in and surf for free. It’s a totally different standard, and the iPad’s the only device that uses it right now.
• The OS: The operating system on the tablet is based on iPhone OS, which is in turn loosely based on OS X. In other words, it’s got the same guts as the iPhone, as well as a somewhat similar interface. What this means in practical terms is that the UI is modal; you can only display one app at a time, and there aren’t windows, per se.
• The homescreen: It’s like a mixture between the iPhone and OS X: it uses the iPhone launcher/apps metaphor, but has an OS X-style shiny dock. It feels very spread out compared to the iPhone’s homescreen, though I suspect this is necessary to keep things from getting too overwhelming. For our full walkthrough of the new OS, check here.
• The keyboard: Input comes by way of an onscreen keyboard, almost exactly like the iPhone’s. Typing on it is apparently a “dream” and “almost lifesize”, by which he means the size of a full hard keyboard. Steve wasn’t typing with his thumbs, but with his fingers, as if it were an actual laptop keyboard. Navigation throughout the rest of the OS is optimised for one hand, though.
• The browser: The browser is essentially an upscaled version of Safari Mobile, with a familiar, finger-friendly title bar and not much else. It rotates by command of the accelerometer. From the looks of it, it doesn’t have Flash support, but we’ll have to confirm. UPDATE: Yup, none at all. You can get away with that kind of thing on the iPhone, sort of, but on a 10-inch tablet it’s a glaring omission.
• Email: Mail again takes its visual cues from the iPhone, but with a lot more decoration: you can preview your mailbox from any message with a pull-down menu, and preview any message from within the mailbox, with a pop-up window.
• Music: The music player is even more hybridised, styled like a mix between the iPhone’s iPod interface and full-fledged desktop iTunes. Interestingly, Cover Flow seems to have more or less died off.
• Maps: This one may be the most direct conversion from the iPhone, with a very similar interface through and through.
• Video: YouTube is available by way of an app, iPhone-style, which can play videos in 720p HD. iTunes video content plays back in a dedicated app, just like on the iPhone, and can also play back in HD. Movie codec support is otherwise the same as the iPhone, which is to say pretty limited.
• Calendar and contacts: The calendar app is desktop-like, until you open organiser mode, where it looks like a literal organiser. It’s beautiful, and dare I say a bit Courier-like.
• iPhone apps: This thing runs them! The iPad runs iPhone apps right out of the App Store, with no modification, but they’re either relegated to the centre of the screen or in “pixel double” mode, which just blows them up crudely. Any apps you’ve purchased for your iPhone can be synced, for free, to your iPad.
• New apps: The iPhone app SDK has already been expanded for tablet development, including a whole new set of UI elements and expanded resolution support. The raw iPhone app compatibility is just a temporary measure, it seems – any developer who wants their app to run on the tablet will develop for the tablet. Some of the early examples of adapted apps, like Brushes, are spectacular. More on the SDK here.
Apple’s pushing gaming on this thing right out of the box, demoing everything from FPS N.O.V.A to Need for Speed. It’s presumably running these games at HD, so the rendering power in this thing is no joke.
• Ebooks: Apple’s also opened an ebook store to accompany the iPad, in the mould of iTunes. It’s called iBooks.
It offers books in ePub format, and makes reading on a Kindle seem about as stodgy as, you know, paper.
• iWork: Apple’ also designed a whole new iWork suite just for the tablet, which implies that this thing is as much for media creation as it is for consumption. There’s a new version of Keynote designed just for the iPad, as well as new version of Pages, (word processor) and Numbers, which is the spreadsheet app. Here’s what Keynote looks like:
The interfaces are obviously designed strictly for touch input, but from the looks of it can handle every function that the old, mouse-centric version could, plus a few more. And man, they’re so much prettier. Each app costs $US10, and you can get them all for $US30.
Right away, Apple’s offering two main official accessories: a book-style case and a keyboard dock. (Ha!) The keyboard dock hooks up with the iPad when it’s in portrait mode, so you can type longer documents, charge, or both.
The iPad’s only really got one accessory port, and it takes an iPod dock connector. Apple’s solution for this? Adaptors! So many adaptors. There’s a Dock Connector to VGA adaptor, a USB camera adaptor (which gives you one plain USB connection, though it apparently only works for importing photos) and a USB power adaptor, which lets you charge by AC or USB, not unlike the iPhone charger.
It’s hefty. Substantial. Easy to grip. Fast. Beautiful. Rigid. Starkly designed. The glass is a little rubbery but it could be my sweaty hands. And it’s fasssstttt.
Brian’s detailed impressions in our hands on, right here.
The iPad ships worldwide in 60 days, but only in Wi-Fi versions. The 3G version will be another 30 days after that. Here are the prices:
Without 3G:
• $US499: 16GB
• $US599: 32GB
• $US699: 64GB
With 3G:
• $US629: 16GB
• $US729: 32GB
• $US829: 64GB
Apple will ship all the iPads in 60 days – the end of March – to America, and just the Wi-Fi models internationally. It’ll be another 30 days beyond that for 3G models to be available outside our shores; Apple says they’re still working on carrier deals.
3G comes by way of AT&T, who’s offering the service without contract, for $US15 a month (250MB of data) or $US30 a month (unlimited). That’s why, unlike the iPhone, the iPad is actually cheaper off-contract.
Here’s Apple’s full press release:
Apple Launches iPad
A Magical & Revolutionary Device at an Unbelievable Price
SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Apple® today introduced iPad, a revolutionary device for browsing the web, reading and sending email, enjoying photos, watching videos, listening to music, playing games, reading e-books and much more. iPad’s responsive high-resolution Multi-Touch™ display lets users physically interact with applications and content. iPad is just 0.5 inches thick and weighs just 1.5 pounds- thinner and lighter than any laptop or netbook. iPad includes 12 new innovative apps designed especially for the iPad, and will run almost all of the over 140,000 apps in the App Store. iPad will be available in late March starting at the breakthrough price of just $499.
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100127/SF44883)
“iPad is our most advanced technology in a magical and revolutionary device at an unbelievable price,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “iPad creates and defines an entirely new category of devices that will connect users with their apps and content in a much more intimate, intuitive and fun way than ever before.”
iPad features 12 next-generation Multi-Touch applications. Every app works in both portrait and landscape, automatically animating between views as the user rotates iPad in any direction. The precise Multi-Touch interface makes surfing the web on iPad an entirely new experience, dramatically more interactive and intimate than on a computer. Reading and sending email is fun and easy on iPad’s large screen and almost full-size “soft” keyboard. Import photos from a Mac®, PC or digital camera, see them organized as albums, and enjoy and share them using iPad’s elegant slideshows. Watch movies, TV shows and YouTube, all in HD or flip through pages of an e-book you downloaded from Apple’s new iBookstore while listening to your music collection.
iPad runs almost all of the over 140,000 apps on the App Store, including apps already purchased for your iPhone® or iPod touch®. The iTunes® Store gives you access to the world’s most popular online music, TV and movie store with a catalog of over 11 million songs, over 50,000 TV episodes and over 8,000 films including over 2,000 in stunning high definition video. Apple also announced the new iBooks app for iPad, which includes Apple’s new iBookstore, the best way to browse, buy and read books on a mobile device. The iBookstore will feature books from major and independent publishers.
Apple also introduced a new version of iWork® for iPad, the first desktop-class productivity suite designed specifically for Multi-Touch. With Pages®, Keynote® and Numbers® you can create beautifully formatted documents, stunning presentations with animations and transitions, and spreadsheets with charts, functions and formulas. The three apps will be available separately through the App Store for $9.99 each.
iPad syncs with iTunes just like the iPhone and iPod touch, using the standard Apple 30-pin to USB cable, so you can sync all of your contacts, photos, music, movies, TV shows, applications and more from your Mac or PC. All the apps and content you download on iPad from the App Store, iTunes Store and iBookstore will be automatically synced to your iTunes library the next time you connect with your computer.
iPad’s brilliant 9.7-inch, LED-backlit display features IPS technology to deliver crisp, clear images and consistent color with an ultra-wide 178 degree viewing angle. The highly precise, capacitive Multi-Touch display is amazingly accurate and responsive whether scrolling web pages or playing games. The intelligent soft keyboard pioneered on iPhone takes advantage of iPad’s larger display to offer an almost full-size soft keyboard. iPad also connects to the new iPad Keyboard Dock with a full-size traditional keyboard.
iPad is powered by A4, Apple’s next-generation system-on-a-chip. Designed by Apple, the new A4 chip provides exceptional processor and graphics performance along with long battery life of up to 10 hours.* Apple’s advanced chemistry and Adaptive Charging technology deliver up to 1,000 charge cycles without a significant decrease in battery capacity over a typical five year lifespan.**
iPad comes in two versions-one with Wi-Fi and the other with both Wi-Fi and 3G. iPad includes the latest 802.11n Wi-Fi, and the 3G versions support speeds up to 7.2 Mbps on HSDPA networks. Apple and AT&T announced breakthrough 3G pre-paid data plans for iPad with easy, on-device activation and management.
Continuing Apple’s dedication to designing and creating environmentally responsible products, each iPad enclosure is made of highly recyclable aluminum and comes standard with energy-efficient LED-backlit displays that are mercury-free and made with arsenic-free glass. iPad contains no brominated flame retardants and is completely PVC-free.
Apple today released a new Software Development Kit (SDK) for iPad, so developers can create amazing new applications designed to take advantage of iPad’s capabilities. The SDK includes a simulator that lets developers test and debug their iPad apps on a Mac, and also lets developers create Universal Applications that run on iPad, iPhone and iPod touch.
Pricing & Availability
iPad will be available in late March worldwide for a suggested retail price of $499 (US) for the 16GB model, $599 (US) for the 32GB model, $699 (US) for the 64GB model. The Wi-Fi + 3G models of iPad will be available in April in the US and selected countries for a suggested retail price of $629 (US) for the 16GB model, $729 (US) for the 32GB model and $829 (US) for the 64GB model. iPad will be sold in the US through the Apple Store® (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores and select Apple Authorized Resellers. International pricing and worldwide availability will be announced at a later date. iBookstore will be available in the US at launch.
*Apple tested wireless battery life by browsing web pages and receiving email over an AirPort® network, never letting the system go to sleep during the test, and keeping the display at half brightness. This is a typical scenario of use on the go, resulting in a battery performance number that is very relevant to mobile users.
**A properly maintained iPad battery is designed to retain 80 percent or more of its original capacity during a lifespan of up to 1,000 recharge cycles. Battery life and charge cycles vary by use and settings.
Ehren
January 28, 2010 at 10:37 AM
Hey just to confirm, is this the only thing apple released/announced today? Like are they not going to update the macbook pro line or new ipod nano colours? The latter is one I’m kinda hanging out to know, cause I want to buy one but thought I’d wait in case there were sexy new colours. Thanks
Report PermalinkSuits Suck
January 28, 2010 at 10:41 AM
It’s just like the 1st gen ipod touch, crap. I wonder how much the os updates will be each year. I will wait till the 5th gen unless someone jailbreaks it.
Report PermalinkJNYBLK
January 28, 2010 at 11:06 AM
I am throwing out this question to everyone do you think this device can be used in the workplace and will it? For example can you see a nurse using this instead of a clip board? Will the delivery drivers use this? Company can create there own apps and also use websites linked to databases? Just a thought what do you think?
Report PermalinkPat
January 28, 2010 at 7:37 PM
without inking via an active digitiser, I cant see this being useful at all in that regard, if they add it, perhaps, I mean, if a nurse was using this instead of a clipboard, theres very little chance of needing to switch apps etc.
Report PermalinkBut there’s no way that’s how apple will market it, its designed to be a media consumption device, plus its pretty expensive
Aaron Divitini
January 28, 2010 at 11:08 AM
Hrmm, Over Hyped. I didnt even do a little wee.
I Love love love my iPhone, id love the tablet, BUT wat stops me buying it:
No Flash
No Flash!
No Multitasking.
I know they are keeping it thin, but stick a intel processor into it, i want that thing to run windows 7!
What did they say about Britney? You can dip a turd in glitter but underneath it all its still a turd.
Report PermalinkSteveM
January 28, 2010 at 11:12 AM
Okay so if you do a couple of conversions, based on the markup for iPhones and MacBooks/Touches over in AUS… you get roughly the following prices (rounding up to nice, Apple numbers):
Non 3G (with average MacBook/Touch % markup)
- $679 (for the $499 model)
- $799 (for the $599 model)
- $949 (for the $699 model)
Incl. 3G (with average iPhone % markup)
- $929 (for the $629 model)
- $1029 (for the $729 model)
- $1229 (for the $829 model)
Ummm… think I’ll just keep my iPhone with larger storage, for less, that pretty much does the same thing but with more portability.
Report PermalinkSimon Reidy
January 28, 2010 at 11:32 AM
Unless this thing can be jailbroken to unlock it’s full potential (at the very least enabling multi-tasking) I’m completely uninterested.
No HDMI output?! No USB? No camera? No flash? What year is this Apple? Why on Earth would I give up my laptop and jailbroken iPhone for a glorified eBook reader?
Report PermalinkDave
January 28, 2010 at 11:48 AM
This seems a bit “meh” to me.
It does have potential, but IMO it’ll be like the AppleTV. Right idea, poorly exicuted.
Will not be getting a first gen iPad.
Report PermalinkBrett Ironmonger
January 28, 2010 at 11:52 AM
May as well buy a netbook, dissappointed at the lack of a camera, or card reader slot. Sho creates content without images?
Its just an expensive location aware glorified ebook reader that can run apps, nothing a netbook cant do. No reason to switch off your current technology, assuming you have an iphone and laptop/netbook.
Any bets on how long it will take to jailbreak?
Report PermalinkViddy
January 28, 2010 at 11:54 AM
Firstly, before reading my comments, I love my iPhone and Mac to bits, but my initial thoughts on the iPad…
No Camera… crap – thought you’d get at least one like almost every laptop on the planet now so you can Skype easily.
One App at a Time… crap – hopefully this will be amended with OS 4 release. What’s the point of a 1GHz processor to basically ONLY be used when rendering video? This is described as a bridge between the iPhone and the Mac, but it’s not even that – just a huge dumb iTouch (unless you pay more, get a new micro sim, pay an aditional fee for service and would still be carrying your phone around with you also).
Old Apps run in Small Screen… crap – thought they’d have a better upscaling solution than just doubling the pixel count.
Overall Looks… crap – I was REALLY looking forward to an even sleeker boarderless design (means you wouldn’t have to reach as far with your fingers as well as looking slick).
No HDMI… crap – the idea of lugging around 20 cables and adapters to use this and get charged $Apple Tax$ for the privilidge, or have to buy sub-standard generics from China…. hmmmm. Also means you will have to perform one task at a time – either plug cable into TV or charge the iPad… not a choice I should have to consider.
Battery… great!! 10 hours sounds awesome, but… does this mean it will take 5 hours to charge it? With such a power hungry screen, will it be like the iPhone Maps app – when you’re driving and have the GPS location running, even though you’re plugged in to charge, the power is still decreasing, sucking more juice than you can get back into it!
No Flash… crap – thought this would have been addressed. Until HTML5 is a standard, and we’re a way off from that yet, it means there is a frigging MASSIVE hole in just about every page you will browse.
I was also expecting a ’surprise’ and thought they would have had a nice Pico progector chucked in… nope.
Overall – not that impressed. The next OS will address a few issues – but I really thought the hardware would have been adorned with more features we were kinda expecting.
I think I’ll just wait for the next iPhone.
Report PermalinkCBD
January 28, 2010 at 12:22 PM
Will follow Newton… rip iPAD…
Report PermalinkJordan
January 28, 2010 at 12:30 PM
I want an iPad, because, I am an IT geek in the daytime and a DJ at night.
Imagine the multitouch sound engineering and manipulation/mixing apps that will inevitably come out for this baby.
For everything else.. it’s a bit shit.
Report Permalinkklaw81
January 28, 2010 at 1:25 PM
I honestly don’t know why you’d buy one of these devices. Sure, the concept has potential, but it’s crippled in so many ways. What is it actually good for?
Media playback? It has a nice (albeit kinda low-res) screen, but it’s really too big to be a genuinely portable device for use on the train or similar…a dedicated media player (or even an iPhone) is better in this respect. iPad is also crippled due to lack of codecs, so you’re stuck with iTunes downloads for the most part, and in truth, not many of them, since the storage on the affordable models is quite small. Using it as solely a music player is an exercise in overkill with extreme prejudice, unless you’re listening to music while you do something else – except multi-tasking isn’t allowed so you can’t do that either. And much of the appeal of the iPhone’s media capabilities is because you already have the device in your pocket all the time….you’d have to be very keen to carry an iPad around with you all day.
Working? You can read your email, but replying isn’t going to go well since there’s no stylus, no handwriting recognition, no voice recognition and a keyboard that you can really only use one-handed in a hunt-and-peck manner (unless you have a nearby table) means that very little heavy-duty work is possible unless you’re an artist – and if you’re an artist you probably can’t afford one of these.
Web browsing? The bigger screen will ensure a better browsing experience, but much of the reason iPhone is good at browsing doesn’t apply to a big-screen device. Pinch to zoom isn’t an issue on a big screen, and Mobile Safari is much LESS capable than Firefox on a netbook. Flash video is a no-go area, which is a total deal-breaker for most people.
Gaming? Sure, there’s a bunch of cheap iPhone games for it & I’m sure they will run very nicely with a bigger screen and better processor, but there are cheaper, more versatile, more portable gaming devices around. Proper console-style games require hardware controllers to be ergonmically viable, and the iPad processor won’t handle that kind of graphics output. Besides, the main appeal of iPhone games is that you have a game console in your pocket when you’re waiting in line, or have 5 minutes to spare when you’re eating lunch…again, you’re not going to carry an iPad around with you everywhere you go.
Books? Well, the jury is still out on whether backlit screens are viable for an e-reader, but at least the content is full colour, trumping the Kindle. But at $629 for the cheapest model that supports 3G, iPad is far more expensive than Kindle and Amazon has a better selection too.
So in my humble opinion, the iPad is a solution looking for a problem. It’s currently the world’s most expensive electronic photo frame – at least it can do that better than most items on the market.
Report PermalinkJustin
January 28, 2010 at 1:39 PM
What a peace of rubbish…pumped up Iphone LAMO!
Report Permalinklets see the Microsoft version or the Archos..or something!
Neil
January 28, 2010 at 2:22 PM
I would much rather wait for the Microsoft Courier due to the complete lack of anything new in this item.
Report PermalinkRK
January 28, 2010 at 2:37 PM
Nice start but glaring omissions (camera; Flash compatibility on something which is meant to supplant netbooks) and a lack of absolute killer must-have functionality.
In other words, it’s just like iPhone v1. iPhone 3G brought 3G (glaring omission on a smartphone) and the App Store (killer functionality), and the product took off, so there is certainly hope for the iPad, but I see little point in being an early adopter of it.
The Courier demo seemed much more business oriented, which is where I see the use of the tablet form factor, and potentially brings a new way of working. The iPad doesn’t seem to bring anything new, just combines the Iphone (minus the phone) with a larger screen and more horsepower.
Report PermalinkTony B
January 28, 2010 at 3:34 PM
No ibook feature for Australia? That sucks
Report PermalinkJoshua Ehmann
January 28, 2010 at 3:34 PM
id pick one up but i wouldnt pay more than $500 aud for it.
no point in getting the 3g model as it offers nothing except the proposition of costing you way more down the line in mobile data. considering ive allready got one 3g card for my laptop and paying another 2 3g data plans for my wife and i’s iphones one more device would kill the wallet.
especially since its using some new stupid micro sim, the thing is huge! why did you need ot use a shrunk down sim card?
Report Permalinkim sure some smart person is allready working out a regular sim to microsim cloning device rightthis moment….
Nicholas
January 28, 2010 at 3:43 PM
So it’s just a mutant iPhone? I’ll pass thanks.
Report PermalinkLouis Thorp
January 28, 2010 at 4:26 PM
I can’t say i’m really into apple products and have always thought they are way over hyped, This ipad did nothing to change that opinion at all! As much as i was kinda hoping it might.
Report Permalinkmatt
January 28, 2010 at 4:36 PM
you know what would be REALLY cool? if it was exactly like it is but it had like a clamshell design with a fold down keyboard, that way you had physical keyboard and a way to make the screen stand up! oh, and if it had a fully fledged OS, with multi tasking!
you know, kind of like the TABLET PC that has been around FOR EVER! what the hell were they/we thinking!? I mean look at the shot of it standing up and with the keyboard “accessory”, i mean like dude! how awesome would it be if it like, had the keyboard and stand built in!!
what they should of done is, like a macbook air version of those tablet PCs, like a laptop, screen is multi touch, and can be rotated around and folded down backwards so you can use it as a tablet, it should have kept the same mobile processor, to keep costs down, but it should have had a fully functional ‘PC’ OS on it, don’t even try and tell me that processor wouldn’t be up to it, I have fond memories of using windows 95, a… colorful… but fully functional OS, on a 166mhz processor.
Report PermalinkTim Conway
January 28, 2010 at 5:51 PM
One quick, but very critical question:
Can you ‘tether’ an iPad to an iPhone — either with a cable or BT — and use that for web connectivity away from wifi.
Ticking this box would tilt me to ‘buy’ — I don’t want ‘another phone plan’
Report Permalinksnappa
January 28, 2010 at 6:14 PM
IPad….Gives Coverflow a whole new meaning.
Report PermalinkTocam
January 28, 2010 at 7:47 PM
Not a single USB port? Is MAC out of their mind?
I would have thought it should have at least 1 (that’s all I am asking for) USB 2.0 (or 3.0 could be a bonus) port.
I was expecting something like a touch-screen MacBook/MacBook Pro but much thinner, but I was wrong, as many have suggested, this is just an iTouch, but a 3x bigger screen.
And Apple expect users to have to transfer photos and music by syncing via iTunes and iPreview, which is tideous.
I don’t care about the GPS/AGPS features, as you would be crazy to carry this thing with no built in map software to use a GPS. What is the use of a GPS on the iPad when you need to fork out another $100 or so for a third-party GPS software with supplied map because Apple is still relying entirely on the data/internet only Google Map capability.
Thoroughly dissapointing, just because of the lack of any proper USB ports.
Report Permalink10d
January 28, 2010 at 8:05 PM
Can’t wait to run navigation software on this!
Report PermalinkI guess, the non-3G model won’t be a violation in NSW!
rohan
January 28, 2010 at 8:25 PM
here’s a question…
Report Permalinkwhy is the ibook app on the ipad only available to u.s. customers and not australians.
check out the gallery of the ipad on the u.s. site and then the aussie site and u will see the ibook app is missing for the aussies.
this (the ibook app) is a big plug for apple as part of the release of the ipad. why then is it not available to everyone?
very unfair if this is the case.